Batman Versus the Time Tyrants
by Matthew Snee
Summary: When a prestigious Wayne Industries scientist is found dead and mutilated, it's up to the one and only Batman to unravel a labyrinth of clues and mysteries to confront an evil that has come from beyond time itself.
1. Chapter 1 - A Day in the Life of Batman

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter One: A Day in the Life of Batman**

"Take one step closer and I'll kill her," said the Creep.

Batman said nothing, did not move. The Creep was a minor super villain of little repute. But somehow he had taken a hostage seven stories up on a roof in Uptown, Gotham. The Creep had never killed before - that the Batman knew of - but he was edging dangerously close.

"Let her go," Batman growled.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" asked the Creep. He was pumped on something - coke, meth, something. He was covered in sweat and it was deep January.

"Don't make me ask again," said Batman.

The girl shrieked. She was maybe twenty, maybe twenty-one. A college student, probably. Innocent.

The Creep took another step closer to the edge of the roof. He was inches away from falling - and taking the girl with him.

Batman could wait any longer - he had to act now, and he had to act according to his plan.

He cast his batarang into the air. It struck the Creep's knife-hand with sharp certainy. The Creep dropped the knife, but not the girl - and finally took that last step back.

"Noooooo!" screamed the girl, falling backward with the Creep.

A normal man would have had to choose between them. But the Dark Knight was no normal man. He reached out, so quickly that it seemed like he had teleported, and grabbed the girl by her outstretched wrist.

She would be safe.

Then with his other hand, he shot his grapple, which wrapped around the Creep's leg until he was securely fastened to the Batman - and hanging seven stories above the street, whimpering like a baby.

Batman pulled the Creep back to the roof.

"Why'd you have to do that?!" the Creep wailed.

Batman punched him in the chin, knocking the villain out.

"Is it over?" the girl asked the Batman.

"Yes, it's over," he told her.

Batman escorted her back down the stairs with one hand, and dragged the Creep behind him by the leg with the other. He had already radioed for a black & white to meet him downstairs on the street.

Still, there was a presence on the roof that no one - not even the Batman - had noticed: a hooded shape silent in the shadows, watching the whole thing.

"No, Batman," said the figure in a dark voice. "No, it's only just begun."

* * *

Later, back at Wayne Mansion, Bruce Wayne and his thirteen-year old ward, Richard Grayson, had a late dinner. As usual, dinner was quiet until Richard spoke.

"You ever notice Gotham's spiral street design?"

"I might have once or twice," Bruce quipped.

"What do you think that means?"

"It means Gotham grew naturally, rather than man imposing illusionary grids on the world. At least that's how I think about it. Anyway, urban planning was different back in the 1700's. That is to say: it did not exist, practically."

"So, the spiral thing doesn't freak you out?"

"No. Spirals are naturally occurring in nature. I don't suppose you've ever seen a sea shell?" Bruce expressed this last sentence sharply.

"Like evil is naturally occurring in men?"

Bruce sighed, impressed and annoyed by the boy's wit. "I suppose so."

"Can I go out with you on patrol tomorrow? I missed all action out there tonight!"

"Richard, we've talked about this. You're not old enough. You're not trained enough. And finally, you're not wise enough."

"But yesterday we were talking about the future!" Dick complained.

"I can't worry about the future when the present is in so much danger."

Richard sighed. There was little use arguing with the Batman.

"Now finish your dinner, and go back to your studies, I - what?"

Richard was looking astonished through the window. "It's been months!" he exclaimed.

Bruce turned and looked: high above the Gotham skyline, the Bat Signal shone brightly.

Something was wrong in the city.

* * *

Wayne descended into the Batcave, leaving Richard and the mansion behind. He checked his remote camera of the roof of the main Gotham City Police Department building, downtown, where the Bat Signal was located. Sure enough, police commissioner Jim Gordon was waiting nearby, drinking what Wayne surmised was coffee - maybe with a hint of Irish whiskey in it.

It was late, but Wayne knew night could be eternal sometimes. He decided to waste no time anyway - and quickly prepared the Bat Jet for launch.

Now was the ritual, the sacrament - dressing in the Bat Suit, preparing his utility belt, donning the cowl. He had performed this same routine for thirteen years now, and its significance and power never ceased to amaze him.

And in minutes, he was the Batman.

Once ready, he jumped into the Bat Jet's cockpit and closed the hatch behind him. He gripped the throttle, and the jets kicked in. Encased in billions of dollars of metal, he rose out of the Bat Cave and into the night sky in an impossible silence.

It would take mere minutes to reach the G.C.P.D. building, minutes he used to wonder what had happened, what awaited him, and -

What had begun.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Streets Hit Back

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Two: The Streets Hit Back**

"Hello, Jim," the Dark Knight said in greeting after he floated down to the G.C.P.D. roof from the Bat Jet.

"Hello, Batman," said Commissioner Gordon, as he took a sip from his coffee. By now, the Commissioner was probably used to the Batman's otherworldly theatricality - or at least didn't show that he wasn't. "And how are you this fine evening?"

"What's the problem?" Batman asked, ignoring the pleasantry.

Gordon nodded - the Batman always meant business. "This," said the Commissioner, handing over a police folder.

Batman took it in his gloved hands, opening it quickly and scanning it with his eyes as well as the cameras in his cowl, which relayed the information back to the Bat Computer for analysis later. The opening page was a photo of an obviously dead woman with a mutilated face.

"Who is she?" Batman asked.

"That we know, and that is the problem - why I summoned you tonight. It's Ingrid Wells, of Wayne Industries."

"Ingrid Wells?" Batman repeated. Wells was one of Wayne Industries' most prestigious research scientists, a legend, internationally known, and the foremost expert in multiple disciplines. She had been sixty-three years old, black, never married.

By now the analysis of the photo had been sent back to Batman from the Bat Computer - Wells face hadn't just been mutilated - it had been eaten.

"Yeah," said Gordon.

"She's been the victim of cannibalism," Batman told him.

"What?"

"The facial damage - it was caused by human teeth."

"How do you know that?"

"I know," said the Dark Knight.

"My god. Who would do such a thing?"

"Where did you find her?"

"We didn't have to find her. She was given to us."

"What do you mean?" asked Batman.

"Her body was thrown out of a car this morning onto the front steps of this building. She was wrapped hastily in brown paper, and addressed to 'Gotham Pigs'."

"Did you trace security video of the car?" Batman asked.

"We did."

Yes, they did. The Bat Computer's tendrils reached into the G.C.P.D. mainframe and quickly analyzed and broadcasted to Batman through his contact lenses the footage related to the case. The car was a late model sedan, with stolen plates, and it was followed from camera to downtown camera and by the police dirigibles that hung over the city until it disappeared into a underground parking lot.

"Did you find the car?" Batman asked.

"Yeah," said Gordon. "Clean as a whistle. No DNA except for Wells. It's a dead end."

"Where's the car now?"

"In evidence. I can...arrange something."

"No, that won't be necessary," said the Dark Knight. His intuition told him the car was a dead end. "What I am going to need is to see the body."

"I figured you would. It's downstairs."

* * *

Ingrid Wells had worked for Wayne Industries for most of her life, recruited after college by Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne. By the time she was twenty-six, she had made a name for herself in "indusion", an experimental quantum philosophy used to measure irrelative time - a technology that could theoretically be used to create faster than light space engines. It was all very promising and controversial, but by the time she was thirty, experiments had proven the tech was impossible - even though equations said otherwise.

Regardless, it had still put her on the map, with both Thomas Wayne, and the world. She was granted her own experimental division, a sliver of which was so secret that only Batman knew about it - indusion was what powered the Bat Cave. Wells herself never knew her invention had ever had practical applications (which were, in truth, notoriously expensive to the point of actually being impractical to anyone but the Dark Knight).

But that wasn't Wells' only contribution to the world. Numerous inventions that had almost sprung fully born out of her mind had been nurtured by Wayne Industries, and the company had been rewarded with profit - profit that went back into Wells' division.

Now she was dead.

But why?

* * *

Gordon had already ordered everyone home, in preparation of Batman's arrival. Besides, it was late, and the shift had been light anyway.

Inside the autopsy room, Batman drew back the plastic covering Ingrid Wells. It was awful. But he had seen worse.

He opened his utility belt and pulled out his DNA scanner, and took a sample from one of the bite wounds on Wells' face. The scanner remotely connected to the Bat Computer and searched the DNA archives for a match.

"Anything?" Gordon asked.

"No," Batman lied. In fact, there was a match, but he wasn't ready to discuss it. No doubt, Gordon's men would do the same tomorrow morning - but Batman needed a head start on this.

The DNA match was for a man named Waylon Jones, also known as Killer Croc, a demented cannibal who had one terrorized Gotham.

But Killer Croc was dead - he had been dead for two years now, killed by the police in an incident or accident that was still ambiguous after multiple interior and exterior investigations.

"So?" Gordon asked. "What now?"

"I need you to be quiet about this one," said Batman.

"That's going to be impossible," said Gordon. "Once we notify her family and media, this is going to get crazy. You have heard about the latest controversy with this woman, haven't you?"

Gordon was talking about Wells' latest invention: a new form of electromagnetic explosive. It was a terrible technology, and Wayne had planned to kill it - but someone on the inside of the division had leaked the technology to rogue foreign interests - and everything had gone to hell.

"I've heard," said Batman. "But... there might be... things we discover that we might not want to reveal... not even to our allies."

Gordon shrugged. "I think I understand," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.


	3. Chapter 3 - Battle in the Sewers

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Three: Battle in the Sewers**

Ingrid Wells lived alone on the East side of Gotham, in a three room apartment that was both modest and clean. The police had already been over it - but they hadn't known what to look for.

Batman did.

He slipped in through the bedroom window. It was the bedroom he was interested in. He knew she had a hidden safe - she had to. He had time to guess and search where it was, as it was still late, perhaps two hours before dawn. But it didn't take long - as brilliant as the woman had been, she was also predictable.

The safe was concealed under a loose floor panel next to the bed. The cops had totally missed it. Batman quickly cracked it open quickly, and then peered inside.

There were papers, and money; baby pictures of herself; and surprisingly, a gun. Ingrid wasn't as predictable as the Batman had originally though. It was easy to think you were in danger in Gotham - it was a tough city. But he wondered if she had other motives for procuring and keeping a firearm.

He knew searching the rest of the apartment would be fruitless. There would be nothing else. But he took the papers; and left the money, pictures, and gun, closing the safe back up and replacing the wood panel back to where it belonged. He would examine the papers safely back at the Bat Cave.

He slipped back into the night. The Bat Jet hovered cloaked above, but he wasn't ready to go home yet. Intuition struck him again.

Batman quickly glided down from Well's apartment to the alley behind her building, where he found what he expected to find: a recently opened sewer grate, the screws broken by some incredible force.

Was Killer Croc still alive? There was only one way to find out.

Batman lifted open the sewer grate and descended below, stepping deep into the wretched filth inside. In his line of business, the sewers were sometimes a necessary place to visit, but he had trained his nose and stomach to stand the smell. Alfred would be mad that he dirtied the Bat Suit like this though. The thought almost made him smile.

With ankle-deep sewer slush, it would be hard to track anybody, had they been through here. But he knew _someone_ had been through here, and recently. The clues were adding up.

Batman slowly made his way down the corridor, until he came to a fork. He flipped on his cowl's scanner and did a quick sweep of the area: infrared, heat, black light - and found another clue: a spot of sewage on the wall, in the shape of a handprint - someone had touched the concrete here, maybe to keep balance, or for one of thousands of other reasons.

He followed the print to the left. The corridor slanted downhill, he was headed deeper underground. This, he felt, was a good sign.

He followed the corridor until it led to a larger hall where many corridors met. At first, the Batman cursed his luck - and then he spotted a door on one of the walls - an abandoned maintenance closet.

He did a scan through the door - no heat signatures inside. It was empty of life.

He opened the door, and a smell worse than the sewer rafted out. Decomposition. Bodies. He stepped inside and found what he had expected: partially consumer human flesh, maggots, and a cot.

Someone had been living here. Someone bad.

But right as he was about to scan, he heard a splash behind him.

He turned, but it was too late. A fist struck him on the left side of his head, knocking him back into the room and off his feet.

"Looking for me, Batman?" a slithering voice asked him.

* * *

It was Killer Croc.

His real name was Waylon Jones, and he suffered from atavism - meaning he was a one in a billion genetic throwback with some reptilian traits: scaled skin, superhuman strength, and a keen appetite for blood. He wasn't terribly intelligent, but he wasn't stupid either, but he came from an abusive background with a mother who had abused him because of his deformity, and never had a chance at a normal life. As a teen he started indulging in cannibalism, enabled by the criminal underworld which often hired him as a strong arm. It wasn't long until he captured the attention of the Batman.

They had faced off before - Waylon Jones was no ordinary man. He was quick, he was strong, and he was brutal.

Batman knew he couldn't waste time here, and quickly pulled an explosive smoke pellet from his belt and cast it at Killer Croc. The pellet was supposed to disorient both with pyrotechnics and with a choking chemical agent.

Neither made Croc flinch. Instead, he only laughed, and bent and grabbed Batman by the throat. Batman kicked at Jones' legs, but he was a heavy, thick man, and this also had no effect. Croc lifted Batman into the air and threw him out of the room, and back into the sewage. Batman landed on his knees and elbows.

Alfred would be even more displeased now.

Having made two mistakes, Batman vowed not to make a third. He leapt to his feet, and shot his grapple directly at Killer Croc's face. The almost impervious wire wrapped itself around the man-beast's head and locked. Then, Batman pulled with all his might.

It didn't knock Killer Croc off his feet, but he did stumble, giving Batman time to arm an electro-dart, which he then sent flying towards Croc's bare chest. The dart hit its mark perfectly.

"Aaaaargh!" cried Croc, going down to one knee.

But that wouldn't be enough. Batman armed another dart, and let it fly too, striking the villain again in the chest.

"Aaaaaaaaaaarghhhaaa!" Killer Croc screamed.

Now Batman pulled on the grapple wired again, dragging Croc to his hands and knees into the sewage. The Dark Knight kicked his opponent straight in the chin with his heavy, steel-toed boot. This time, Croc made no noise except for a sharp grunt, spitting blood and a reptilian tooth.

"Goodnight," Batman told him, and then let another kick fly.

* * *

He bound Killer Croc tightly, injected him with a heavy knock-out drug, and then radioed into Gotham P.D. where they could find the villain. It must have been dawn by now - he had to get out of the city, and the police could take care of Killer Croc now.

He would have to be interrogated, but he would let Gordon do that. Besides, he had another clue to follow: the papers he had found in Ingrid Wells' safe, which he felt would tell him more than Croc could.

Waylon Jones was no mastermind. If he had murdered someone like Wells, it was either an incredible accident, or someone had put him up to it. And who had dropped Wells' body off at G.C.P.D. headquarters? This is what he needed to know, but he could wait until Gordon talked to Killer Croc.

Anyway, the sewer was no place for an interrogation, and Croc was too dangerous.

But before Batman left, he quickly examined the closet once again. Jones had obviously been living here, killing here, and storing the bodies to eat.

He doubted there was anything here but terrible filth, but he had to know who else Croc had killed. He did a DNA test on one of the carcasses. Nothing. Probably a homeless vagrant, someone who had wandered into the sewers and become Croc's dinner. What a sad life.

Batman decided the other carcasses would lead to the same results, and Gotham P.D. could check that themselves. He scanned the rest of the room and found the last clue he was looking for: Ingrid Wells' DNA, on part of the floor.

So, Killer Croc had brought her here. But why? Was it totally random?

Batman knew it couldn't have been random. Nothing was random.

Finally, he left and ascended into the waiting Bat Jet, which didn't cloak so well during the daylight. The sun had just come up, and painted the sky in imperial orange and silver.

It was time to go home.


	4. Chapter 4 - A Shadow of a Shadow

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Four: A Shadow of a Shadow**

"My lord, sir," said Alfred said when Batman had returned to the Bat Cave. "It appears a commode vomited all over you."

"Something like that," the Dark Knight told him. "I was down in the sewers. Stepped in a puddle."

"It must have been some puddle, sir." Alfred sighed. "I suppose you're soaked down to the core."

"Yeah, I'm going to shower now."

"Should I throw this suit into the incinerator?"

"You might recall it's flameproof," said Batman.

"Oh yes. How unfortunate," said Alfred. "Perhaps I will still do so as a pre-wash."

"Go ahead," Batman grinned.

After Wayne had taken off the Bat Suit and vigorously showered, he then sat at the Bat Computer and analyzed the papers he had found in Ingrid Wells' safe. Most of it was typical - birth certificate, and other important documents and identifications. But then there was a file that was obviously related to Wells' work. But even though she had kept the file somewhat protected in her safe, Wayne was chagrined to find it was encoded somehow - or was otherwise nonsense.

He doubted it was nonsense, and quickly scanned the file and set the Bat Computer to work on it. Then, Wayne decided to finally have dinner: a quart of a high protein, vegetable rich concoction that Alfred had "cooked" up. After he had gone to bed and woken up, he would have something a little more normal, but he found when he was working, he preferred smoothies and shakes to keep him going.

The Bat Computer quickly broke the code and revealed the contents of the file to Wayne. Now it was less nonsense, but still incredibly difficult to fathom: a string of equations related to Wells' early work on indusion.

But the file was recent. She had been working on indusion outside of Wayne Industries, probably staying up late at nights, working diligently on her passion project. And not only that - to Wayne, who was obviously a layman to the science - it appeared as though she had broken through the roadblocks that had stunted her work years ago.

She had succeeded. She had conquered indusion.

The ramifications were stunning. Wayne Industries had given up on indusion, and so apparently had Wells. But secretly, she had done it - but why? Why keep it hidden.

There were caveats that explained the breakthrough: first, indusion wouldn't work in zero-gravity - a hell of a thing for a faster than light engine. Secondly, instead of consuming energy, it instead produced it - in large quantities! If so, this could lead to a breakthrough in energy technology at least. In fact, the research had the potential to change practically everything on Earth.

The pieces were finally coming together: no wonder someone had wanted her dead. But who?

* * *

"Indusion, sir?" asked his butler.

"Indusion, Alfred."

"But I thought that was...problematically theoretical."

"It was. But not anymore. Somehow, someway, Ingrid succeeded."

"And you think someone killed her for that?"

"I don't _think_. I _know_. It had to be. But Killer Croc couldn't have acted alone. It doesn't make sense."

"So what do you do now?"

"I sent an encoded message to Gordon. We have to exhume whatever was buried as Killer Croc."

"That sounds pleasant," Alfred told him. "Should I prepare another Bat Suit to be washed?"

"I won't be doing it," said Wayne. "G.C.P.D. will. But I realize now, I must interrogate Croc. Gordon won't get the answers out of him. I will."

"And what do you think he'll say?"

"I think he'll help...if I motivate him properly."

"You know, sir," suggested Alfred. "We need to talk about the boy."

"Not now, Alfred."

"If not now, when?"

"I don't know. Let's leave it at that."

"He's doing terribly at school."

"Terribly?"

"He's been in trouble."

"Why didn't you tell me, Alfred?"

"I have told you, Master Wayne. You have chosen not to listen."

Bruce caught himself in half a reply, and then was silent.

"Master Wayne, I think perhaps you should talk to the boy."

"And say what?"

"Perhaps you could... introduce him to some of your night time activities."

"He's so young," argued Wayne.

"And how old were you... when you found your mission?"

"About his age, I know, but it's not the same."

"It _is_ the same," said Alfred. "But he is not the same. He's lighter, don't you think? Happier?"

"He's a survivor, for sure," said Wayne. "And you're right - he is different."

"But still... troubled," said Alfred.

"I just don't know what to say," protested Wayne.

"But you see, sir, you don't need to say anything. Just trust him. Trust him."

"I have to sleep now, Alfred."

"I understand, Master Wayne."

Wayne retired to his room, where he lay in bed wide awake. Honestly, now he was more trouble about Richard than he was about Killer Croc. Crime and the mysteries that enveloped them were easy. Raising a young man - indeed, his possible heir - was more difficult than he had ever imagined.

* * *

That night he met with Gordon again on the roof of G.C.P.D.

"You want to talk with him?" the Commissioner asked him of Killer Croc.

"Alone," said Batman.

"I think I can arrange that," said Gordon.

"Good."

"Now ," began Gordon. "We did some legwork. We looked into the cop who shot Killer Croc. Dead - three months after the shooting. The coroner who took hold the body? Dead - also three months after the shooting. And the undertaker that buried him? He's dead too."

"Three months after the shooting?"

"You guessed it."

"How come no one pieced this together," asked Batman.

"I guess we're piecing it together now," joked Gordon.

"Gotham."

"That's right."

"What about the body? Did you exhumed?"

Gordon pulled a evidence bag out of his coat and handed it to Batman. "No body, of course. Only this note: addressed to you."

The Dark Knight opened the bag and pulled out the note and read it:

 _Dear Batman,_

 _If you're reading this, you have discovered our game. But dare you play it with us?_

 _Signed,_

 _Ra's Al Ghul_


	5. Chapter 5 - Freeway Fight

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Five: Freeway Fight**

As soon as he saw his old master's name, the Dark Knight fell through a haze of kaleidoscopic memories: he remembered his youth, when he was just a man with a mission, before he was the impossible Batman.

Ra's Al Ghul was the legendary, supposedly ageless master of an international cabal of assassins, known as the League of Shadows. He was also one of Batman's most important mentors.

The Dark Knight would never forget what he learned on the Hot Mountain.

"Batman?" asked Gordon. "You okay?"

He had been lost in thought for a moment. Sentiment for Ra's was one of Batman's few weaknesses. "Yeah. Of course."

"Who is Ra's Al Ghul?" Gordon asked.

"A villain," said Batman. "Of the highest order."

"You know him?"

"He knows me," Batman admitted.

"What does this mean?"

"It means we have a big problem. Did you interrogate Killer Croc?"

"Yes. He gave us nothing."

"He knows nothing. I was going to interrogate him, but I realize now it's a waste of time. There's something else I need to do instead."

"I need access to the files of the three murders we discussed."

"I can do that," said Gordon. "Anything else?"

"Let Killer Croc go."

"What?"

"Let him go. Then I can track where he goes. Ra's Al Ghul no doubt plans to kill him too. Maybe I can find them through him."

"But he's a cannibal! I can't let him back on the streets! Not only is it wrong, it's illegal, and the press would have a field day. No. I can't do it."

Batman thought for a second. "I have an idea. But you'll have to trust me."

"Trust you? I trust you, Batman. But my position - and my conscience - have their limits."

"I understand that. You have to understand this: Batman has no limits."

Gordon chuckled. "OK. What do you have in mind?"

* * *

Killer Croc "escaped" police custody at approximately 2 A.M. the next night - all according to the Batman's plan. Technically, he was thrown half-conscious out of a unmarked van near the alley where Batman had originally found him, with one of Batman's high tech tracking devices hidden in his clothing. Maybe Croc would think it had all been a dream, or maybe he would think his friends in high places had helped it out - it didn't matter, as long as he led Batman to the League of Shadows, and Ra's Al Ghul.

What the Batman hadn't counted on was that the League of Shadows was waiting for them in the alley.

The Dark Knight watched from the roof above as a black-cloaked assassin leaped out of the shadows below and quickly up behind the drugged Waylon Jones and slit his scaled throat with a small sword. Batman recognized the sword instantly: it was of Chilean make - but he was helpless to save Killer Croc. The beast man slopped to the ground clutching his neck.

Here Batman had a decision to make: try to save Croc, or chase after the assassin.

He chased after the assassin - but quickly radioed Gordon what had happened. Gordon had men standing by on the street.

Using a grapple gun similar to the Batman's, the assassin ascended to the roof of a building on the other side of the alley.

The Batman followed. If the assassin knew where to wait for Croc, he probably also knew Batman was there. Either the assassin fled not knowing he was being followed, or knew all too well.

Batman chased the assassin silently as he bounded across the rooftops. Batman hoped he was not noticed, but he guessed the assassin was leading him into a trap.

So spring the trap.

Batman increased his speed. The assassin followed suit, now racing across the rooftops. Finally they came to where a highway ran through the city. The assassin leaped from the roof - and landed on top of a fast moving semi truck's trailer, racing away. The Dark Knight waited for another semi to arrive below, and did the same.

He kept his eye on the assassin, who knelt on the trailer ahead and held on to the truck with one hand. Batman almost had to do the same - but his balance was obviously better than the assassin's.

The mirrored nature of their encounter so far did not shock the Batman, but it did tear at his sentiment. He and the assassin had obviously been trained by the same man: Ra's Al Ghul.

Batman climbed up to the roof of the truck's cab as they sped through the city, his eyes always on the assassin on the truck ahead. Then he climbed down onto the driver's side door, where he hung banged on the window and shouted "Faster!" to the driver as he pointed to the truck in front of them.

The driver, appalled, did as the Batman asked, putting his foot on the gas and closing in on the assassin's truck. Batman then climbed onto the hood of the truck as the two trucks met -

He jumped from one to the other.

* * *

If the assassin had hidden his knowledge of the chase before, he did no longer, turning towards the Batman with his sword raised as the Dark Knight stepped across the roof of the trailer.

"The game's over!" shouted the Batman.

The assassin replied, in a woman's voice: "The game has hardly begun, Wayne!"

Batman knew immediately whom he followed: Ra's Al Ghul's beloved daughter, Talia Al Ghul, a legendary assassin in her own right. If it was her, he was closer to his prey than he had imagined. Still, he felt he was being toyed with - for a man with plans within plans, Batman knew too well others of his ilk.

The assassin pulled off her mask and confirmed Batman's suspicions: it was Talia after all. She was still as beautiful as ever, with a wicked grin and eyes that shined darkly in the night. Now her pony-tailed hair blew in the wind, and she laughed with menace. "Come and get me!" she yelled.

They had sparred together before, and he knew how she fought - without mercy. He would have to be careful.

Talia cast an incendiary smoke pellet at Batman, much like he had at Killer Croc two days before. Normally, it would not have affected him, but while they raced on top of the trailer, his balance was not entirely sure, and he stumbled, falling backward until he caught himself from falling off the truck. Talia did not hesitate, now shooting her grapple at Batman, again like he had shot at Killer Croc.

Had she secretly watched that battle through some sort of surveillance? Why else would she duplicate his actions, teasing him so?

But unlike Croc, Batman was waiting for the grapple, knew that Talia was as expert with it as he was, and caught it in one hand. He grasped it tightly and pulled it by the cable, drawing it out of hand before throwing it down off the truck.

Talia smiled. She was impressed.

The truck came upon a tight curve, slowing down until they both stumbled on the roof. Batman recovered first and used the time to close the distance between him and Talia. She righted herself and raised her sword. The Dark Knight knew that Talia was expecting his gadgets and weapons as he had hers, and decided instead to attack her with the one thing he knew would work: brutality.

She took a quick swing at him with the sword. He dodged, waiting. She took another swing. This time he blocked it with one of his gauntlets, catching the sword in the blades and wrenching it out of her hands. This time Batman knew her surprise wasn't as pleasing to her, and she responded by spinning and sweeping a kick at his legs. Batman hopped, and Talia missed completely, losing control and falling to her elbow and hip.

Batman jumped on top of her and pressed his weight onto her middle and pinned her arms with his hands. "It's over, Talia!" he shouted at her as she struggled against him. She was an expert warrior, but he was tremendously stronger.

She stopped her wrestling and raised an eyebrow at him. "You always have to be on top, don't you, Bruce?"

Again his sentiment welled up in his belly: they had once been lovers.

Talia took advantage of this moment to kick at him with all her might, loosening his grip upon her until she struggled free. She laughed and jumped to her feet. "Nice try. But I'm not so easy."

Without even looking, she leaped off the truck.

"No!" Batman pleaded.

Talia landed on the roof of a car below, which swerved at the impact. Talia drew a clawed knife and dashed it into the thin metal of the car, using it to hold on. The car braked to a stop and she flipped onto the ground, hitting the ground safe and sound like the perfect ninja she was. Then she escaped off the highway, and into the shadows of Gotham.

All of this Batman watched as the truck he was on sped away. There was no way he would catch up to her. He couldn't hear her laughter, but he knew it was there, growing more distant by the passing second.

Talia had escaped him. His only lead was gone.


	6. Chapter 6 - Cage of Guilt

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Six: Cage of Guilt**

Wayne returned home slightly emotionally destroyed. While he never indulged in depression, he did indulge in his "cage of guilt", a place he had built for himself in his mind shortly after his parents died when he was a boy. In this cage, he kept all his regrets, which still added up, no matter what he accomplished with his impervious will. Obviously, the past both haunted and sustained him. But it also poisoned him, slowly, dripping.

He spent most of the next day sleeping, and when he awoke at 2PM, decided to eat something and then plan his next move. Richard would be back in a few hours, and he had promised Alfred to speak with the boy. But first: he had business to attend to.

It was obvious to him that Ra's Al Ghul had wanted Ingrid Wells' indusion research, for one reason or another. But the question is: had he already acquired it? And if he had, what did Ra's plan to do with it?

The technology was hard to imagine, and it was even more difficult to extrapolate what it could be used for. Wells, in her notes, had admitted she was worried about the possibilities. Would successful indusion cause a light wave reaction that would melt local time akin to a black hole? Or would it, just, create energy or power a spaceship?

The potential of the technology was frightening, even if it was used for good.

He had lost Talia, but with a little thought, he realized he hadn't lost the trail. There was still the leak that had informed Talia of Killer Croc's "escape". Batman knew Gordon's honor was sacrosanct. But three other cops had known about the plan - cops Gordon had trusted, but cops Batman knew had been compromised.

That night, he decided he would pay each of them a visit, like an avenging ghost.

Killer Croc though was still alive - as deep as Talia's cut had been, it still had not killed the beast man. He was safely back in the care of the police, where he would hopefully remain. But the damage had been severe nonetheless, and interrogating him further was out of the question.

After contemplating these things, Wayne had his afternoon meal and prepared his mind for a another difficult evening, starting with speaking to Richard.

When his ward came home, he immediately ran off to his room and showered. Wayne waited until he came down to do his homework, and then, as the boy studied, Wayne did his Batman act and snuck up behind Richard.

"Boo!" he whispered in the boy's ear.

Richard jumped from his chair and fell over onto the floor. But the boy was resilient. He laughed. "How did you do that?" he asked.

"Practice, and concentration," said Wayne. "When I was a little older than you I journeyed to the Andes in Chile, and learned the arts of the Ninja."

"Chile? I thought ninja were from Japan."

"The arts of the ninja transcend culture," Wayne explained. "And their greatest master, at that time, resided in the Andes, on the Hot Mountain."

"The Hot Mountain?"

"A supposedly extinct volcano, that actually isn't extinct at all."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"That was the point, Richard. You must understand that part."

"OK," said Richard. "I'll try."

"Good. Now, the arts of the ninja depend on three tenets: will, concentration, and conditioning. You must possess all three, or you will possess nothing."

Richard nodded. He seemed the grasp the seriousness of what Wayne was saying, if not the concepts.

"Now, with that, comes great awareness, and with awareness, comes power. With that sort of power, you can do this -"

Wayne slammed an incendiary smoke pellet to the floor, and a gray fog exploded between Richard and himself. Richard coughed and swiped at the smoke, and when it faded, Wayne was gone.

"Where are you?" Richard gasped.

"Batman is everywhere," Wayne's disembodied voice echoed in the room.

"That's amazing!"

Wayne appeared behind the boy and whispered in his ear again. "Yes. It is."

This time the boy did not flinch.

 _Good_ , thought Wayne. _Very good._

* * *

It would be somewhat unnatural for any man to assume the life Bruce Wayne had, but then again, Wayne was somewhat unnatural himself. Forge by the blessings of great fortune and horrible fate, Wayne was a man who - battered by violence and happenstance - became something more than a man. He had become the Batman.

In the early evening he and Alfred enjoyed cups of tea down in the Bat Cave, and Wayne relayed to his man-servant what had happened between himself and Richard.

"I told you, Master Wayne, he's quite the boy."

"I know that Alfred. I just get - I get caught up."

"He needs our support, our dedication, and...our love," said Alfred.

"You're right, I admit that now, it's just very difficult for me. I'm the man who always has a plan - and I have no clue what to do with the boy."

"Well, Master Wayne, I think tonight you started on the right track. If he is to join our little mission, as both you and he want - we must start now."

"I agree, Alfred. I agree."

"If you see yourself in him, I truly believe you have to nurture that."

"He's different than me, Alfred. Despite the murder of his parents, despite coming here, despite everything - he's more carefree. More daring, I think too."

"Yes, Master Wayne. And you mustn't forget: while you are a part of his life, he is also part of yours."

Soon after Wayne began suiting up as the Batman.

"Off to scare some villains?" Alfred asked.

"I hope to scare the socks off them," Batman said. "One will be enough. I think I will start with the youngest - he seems breakable. The others might be more cynical, and difficult."

"And you hope to find Ra's Al Ghul through them?"

"It's my only hope, Alfred."

"I've studied your report on Ingrid Wells' research, and I have to say it's very intense stuff."

"Yes, it is," agreed Batman.

"What do you think Ra's wants with it?"

"He wants what he always wants," said Batman. "To destroy the world."

"So he can remake the future in his own image?"

"Something like that."

"Well, then you better stop him, Master Bruce."

"Yes," said Batman. "I better."

* * *

Soon Batman descended into the city in the Bat Jet, and let go of his cage of guilt for now. In minutes he was hovering over the apartment building where the first cop, detective Andre Bralther, lived. The Dark Knight descended to the cop's bedroom window, cut it with a laser, and slipped inside.

Bralther was asleep, snoring peacefully as Batman stepped over him. From all accounts, Bralther lived alone, and Batman decided it was just himself and Bralther here. In a quick movement, the Dark Knight grasped him by the throat, and lifted him up out of the bed.

"You!" Bralther choked, as he awoke and found the visage of the Batman staring him down.

"I know what you did," said Batman.

"No, I didn't do anything!" Bralther pleaded.

"Don't toy with me," growled the Batman. "I know everything."

Bralther began to babble: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I had no choice, my father's house, he's bankrupt and dying of cancer, and _they_ , they promised to help me."

"You've made a big mistake, Andre," Batman informed the cop.

"I know, I know, please don't hurt me, please don't tell!"

Batman gripped Bralther's throat ever tighter. "Who are they? Where are they?"

"I - I don't know! I don't know anything! They'll kill me!"

"You should be more frightened of what I'll do!" bellowed the Dark Knight, throwing Bralther back into the bed.

It was a casual mistake. Bralther pulled a gun from underneath the pillow, and pointed it at Batman. The Dark Knight however dodged the first shot, and the second, and before the bullets finished racing through the air, he pulled the gun out of Bralther's hand and broke three of his fingers. Bralther yelped in pain.

"I can do this all night," Batman told him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that!"

"Too late, Andre. Too late." The Dark Knight grabbed the man by the hair, and now pushed half of Bralther's body out the window he had cut to get in. Bralther looked at the street four stories below and screamed.

"Please! Please don't!"

"I'm losing my patience with you," threatened the Batman.

"Tomorrow!" Balther confessed. "I'm supposed to meet her tomorrow, outside the city."

"Where?!" Batman yelled at him.

After that Bralther gave it all up - where he was supposed them, how they had come to him, everything.

"Your career is over, Andre. If you believe in God, I recommend you pray to him. I hear prison is tough for cops."

"No...!"

By the time Batman left, Bralther was a shriveled, shivering mess.

And the Batman knew how to find Talia again.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Prisoner

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Seven: The Prisoner**

The daytime was more dangerous for Wayne, but he was not a man to trifle with fear. He would forego his Batsuit for another mask. He was, after all, a master of disguises in addition to his other, highly conditioned skills.

Bralther had arranged to meet a woman Wayne suspected was Talia in the parking lot of a fast food franchise along the interstate North of the city that afternoon. Wayne glued on a wig and beard, painted his face to appear sunburned, and dressed in his ragged "homeless" clothing. Then he headed outside the city in a nondescript car he kept for such instances.

It was a calm drive, as he knew in his heart that Talia - though always on her guard - would not expect the Batman so disguised. Finally, he parked his car at a nearby business, waiting with binoculars for the meeting.

At the appointed time, an expensive black sports car arrived with a woman driving that Wayne knew was Talia. He allowed her to wait impatiently for a few minutes, and then he limped up to the car from behind her and shook change in a foam coffee cup next to her window. "Ma'am, do you have any change?"

Talia turned and looked up at him, not recognizing him at first. "Get away from me, now, or I'll - you!"

Too late she recognized his eyes, but by that time he had let loose a punch to her chin, knocking her out so she feel back onto the passenger's seat. Then Wayne opened the driver's side door, pushed her over, injected her with a knockout drug, and then drove the car away, back to the Bat Cave.

As he drove, he took quick glances of her lovely but wicked face. They had been lovers a long time ago, but he would never forget those moments he had shared with her in the mountains. He was all too aware of his dangerous taste in women, but he would always love her in a small fashion, in his way.

* * *

When he arrived in the Bat Cave, Alfred was waiting for him.

"A guest for dinner sir?" his man-servant asked Wayne as he carried Talia into the Bat Cave's holding cell.

"Yes, Alfred. Prepare another meal, if she'll eat it."

"I hope you scanned and fried any tracking devices on her person."

"Way ahead of you, Alfred."

"Good. I'm glad she's here. We have company so rarely."

"I don't expect she will be very entertaining tonight," said Wayne.

"I certainly hope not, sir."

"Is Richard home, Alfred?"

"Yes, Master Wayne. He's waiting for you, I believe."

"Good. Tell him I'll be with him soon. For now, I will see to our guest."

* * *

Wayne changed into his Bat Suit and threw a bucket of cold water through the bars of the cell onto Talia's head, waking her instantly. She jumped, spat, and then shouted: "Bruce Wayne, you bastard!"

Batman let her look around and assess her situation before he spoke: "Hello, Talia."

She stared at him for a moment, fuming. "Let me out of here, Wayne!"

"I think we both know that's not going to happen, Talia."

"I see you're in your clown costume."

"You're going to tell me everything you know about Ingrid Wells," said the Dark Knight.

She laughed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I can make you talk, Talia."

"Then do so."

"I'd rather be nice."

She felt the bruise on her jaw. "Sure."

"What is your father doing with indusion?"

"Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about."

This was going nowhere.

"I'm going to eat dinner," said Batman. "I'll be back... sometime. And... don't try to escape. This cell can be painful to the impolite. When I get back, you'll talk. Whether you want to or not. I guarantee it."

"I'll never tell you anything!" she yelled.

He grinned back, confident as always.

* * *

Wayne changed out of the Bat Suit and went upstairs into the mansion. There, Richard was watching television while Alfred prepared dinner.

"How are you Richard?"

"I'm good. School sucked."

"Yeah," said Wayne. "It sucks."

"If you hate it so much, why do you make me go?"

"Because you're supposed to. And it's good for you."

"How so?"

"It teaches you how to deal with other people."

"That's all?"

"Well, there's history and math too, I guess. But you can learn that by yourself. Either way, you have to learn those things, might as well learn them the easy way."

"Doesn't seem easy to me."

"That's because you're not an adult with adult concerns yet," answered Wayne. "Compared, to those, childhood is idyllic."

"I'm not a child. I'm almost a man."

"Almost," said Wayne. "Not yet."

Richard sighed. "How are you?"

"Busy as always, with what I do."

"And what are you doing tonight."

"Tonight I have an interrogation to perform."

"That sounds awesome," said Richard.

"It's not so awesome. She's someone I used to know."

"You don't know her anymore."

"I don't think I do, no."

"What are you going to do?"

"Hurt her, probably. In a soft way."

"Do you think she'll talk?"

"Everybody talks," Wayne told Richard.

"I wouldn't talk," said Richard.

"Neither would I," said Wayne.

Alfred ran into the room and interrupted them: "Master Bruce! She's escaped! She's gone!"

"That's impossible," said Wayne.

"She's gone, I tell you," said Alfred. "Look!" The manservant showed Wayne on his handheld computer that the cell was empty.

Wayne leaped to his feet with a shout. "Hurry!"

When he and Alfred made it downstairs, they found it was true: she _was_ gone. "Replay the video," said Wayne.

Alfred did so on the Bat Computer. There, Talia stood, with arms crossed, angry, tapping her foot, until she smiled and a blue flash of light enveloped her. When the light dissipated, she was gone.

"My Lord," said Alfred.

"That's impossible," said Wayne. "That shouldn't be possible."

He investigated the cell. There was nothing, no evidence, not a shred of anything. Then he took his more sensitive equipment out and measured everything he knew he could measure. Finally, he sighed, and looked to Alfred. "She's gone. And I think I know how."

"How? Where do you think she went?"

"Indusion, Alfred. And the question isn't where. It's _when_."


	8. Chapter 8 - Time and the Batman

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Eight: Time and the Batman**

"Time travel, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, astonished. "I thought we were done with those kind of shenanigans for at least a couple months."

"I thought so too, Alfred. But this is different. Very different."

"Are you sure? How could she manage to do it?"

"From all indications, it seems as though local time-space has been ruptured. Mechanically. Some sort of machine - an indusion machine no doubt - was used to help Talia escape to another time."

"Don't you think that sort of technology is a little drastic to escape from a cell?"

"As you know, this is no ordinary cell. But yet, you're right. If Talia did it this time, she's probably done it before. And if she has access to such power, so does Ra's Al Ghul."

"What do you plan to do?"

"I plan to chase her, of course," said Wayne. "Honestly, I think she wants me to chase her. This was no ordinary escape. And while it might not appear so at first, she left traces. And maybe even coordinates."

"Coordinates to where, sir?"

"Not where, Alfred. When. She's somewhere in time. We just have to find out when."

"But how are you going to do such a thing?"

"Ingrid Wells' work is quite explicit. While only hypothetical, the equations do allow for manipulation of local time-space. Even enough manipulation to allow time travel."

"So you're going after her?"

"Yes."

"I'll pack you a lunch," said Alfred, turning around and heading back up into the mansion.

* * *

It was just a matter of science. While Batman didn't understand all of Ingrid Wells' work, he understood enough to do something practical with it - if time travel was ever practical. Besides, she had pretty much spelled it out in between the lines. Thomas Wayne had been enraptured by the promise of a space ship engine. Wells almost was disinterested in such a purpose. You could tell what really fascinated her was the nature of time.

Some say time doesn't exist. That it's only a measurement. But that was like saying length or width didn't exist - objects obviously had dimensions, and so did time. It was just a medium, like the ocean fish swam in, or the oxygen people dwell in.

If it wasn't for the discovery of black holes, science would still be rudimentary in its understanding of the ambiguity of the universe. Some with a mass so great that not even light could escape! To humans, light was ubiquitous, inalienable, a constant. But the truth was, it was no constant. Nothing was constant. Not even time.

While Batman had traveled through time before, he certainly didn't understand the experience. At the time, he thought it nothing but magic and music, but he realized, that as music was simply sound, magic was simply science.

He knew enough about the premises of indusion that he had used to power the Bat Cave. But Ingrid Wells' final equations catapulted those theories into a much higher level. Still, it was beautifully simple, as all truth was - if you can just slice through time, you can step behind it.

The first revelation in the chase for Talia was shocking: using Wells' formula, he calculated she had not traveled into the past, but instead the future. However, he could not define when exactly, though he could follow in her footsteps - essentially, he could leap into what she leaped into, but he would be blind. He had the coordinates - but he didn't know what the coordinates meant. He could bne jumping anywhere, anytime - fifteen minutes head, or eons beyond his understanding.

He knew though he had to do it. In fact, it gave him a thrill.

* * *

Wayne spent the time the time machine required to power up to say a quick goodbye to Richard. The man behind the Batman could contemplate his own death even less than the rest of us, so he did not think for a second he would not return. But he did not know when, and he did not know how.

"Time travel!" exclaimed the boy. Then he pouted. "I wish I could go with you!"

"I wish you could too," said Wayne. "I could use a partner in something like this. But like I've said before, you're not ready yet."

"When will I be ready?"

"Soon," said Wayne.

Then he said his goodbye to Alfred.

"Do pick me up a souvenir, sir," said his manservant.

"I'll make sure to bring back the biggest, most expensive thing I can find," said Wayne.

And that was that. The time machine was powered up. He put on his Bat Suit, readied every gadget he could carry, and decided it was time to break time.

The Dark Knight activated the time machine. Blue light enveloped him. Like his previous voyage into time, this was accompanied by astounding sound - but this time less musical. More arrhythmic and amorphous like a deranged machine banging around.

And like that: he was gone, gone into a frequency that most men will never experience, and that most men wouldn't want to. He flew through a vast white kaleidoscope of half-lines and unfinished circles, until all twirled and the inside of his mind was the same as the outside.

And before he knew it, it was over.

He was in the future.

* * *

Batman found himself in the middle of an abandoned, weed-ridden roadway before a decrepit, forsaken ruin of a sci-fi city.

A gust of wind blew past him and colored returned to the world. The sky became clear, and the rest of the landscape filled in. What shocked him the most wasn't the cold splotch of sun behind pale green clouds, but the giant star-shaped object hovering in the sky like a daytime moon. It had eight sides and was a striking copper color.

Batman gathered his breath and his wits. He took a step towards the city, checked his suit and gear. All was ready. He was ready.

He spied something moving ahead of him, making its weigh in the weeds about a hundred feet ahead. He looked more closely: it was a mangy dog. It lifted its head and stared at him, and then it came bounding to him, tail wagging and tongue hanging out of its mouth. It was a dark brown, with gray spots.

When it reached him, it barked in greeting, and sat. Batman reached out and petted its head. Then he smiled at the canine, and joked: "Hello, dog. Do you know where I am?"

The Dark Knight flinched when the dog spoke back, in a pleasant, half-barked voice:

"Of course! You in Gotham City!"


	9. Chapter 9 - The Unbearable Future

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Nine: The Unbearable Future**

"You just talked!" blurted Batman to the dog. "How?"

"Humans made us talk," said the dog.

"Where are they now?"

"They gone."

"Where did they go?"

"Don't know. Never seen one."

Batman pulled off his cowl and showed his face to the dog. "I'm a human!"

The dog's eyes widened. "Where others?"

"It's just me," said the Batman.

"That sad," said the dog.

"Yes, it's sad," said the Batman, as he took a glance at the lonely, ruined landscape. "Do you have a name?"

"My name Warf!" barked the dog.

"Hello Warf," said Batman.

"You have food?" asked Warf.

The Dark Knight thought of the meal Alfred had packed him. "I do?"

"I have?" asked the dog.

Batman fed Warf part of the sandwich he had. The dog gobbled it up quickly, and licked its lips with its big pink tongue.

"Good! More?"

"Not right now," said Batman, putting the rest away.

Warf looked sad.

"Is there anyone else here, Warf?"

"Dogs here. Someplace."

"Anybody else? No humans?"

"Humans, no. Only _them_. Only _Time Tyrants_."

"Time Tyrants?" Batman asked.

The dog pointed one paw up at the spiky copper moon up in the the sky. "Time Tyrants," Warf said, fear obviously in his strange voice.

"What are they?" Batman asked.

"They _them_ ," said the dog.

The Dark Knight had never talked to a dog before, and he wondered if he was doing it right. What was going on here? When in time was he?

"Do you know what year it is?" Batman asked.

"Yes! It 2626. But... it 2626 last year too. I no good with numbers."

"2626?" Batman repeated. "The 27th century? How could I be so far into the future?"

"Don't know!" answered Warf. "What future?"

"The future is what hasn't happened yet," explained Batman.

"Don't know!" Warf said again.

Batman sighed. He was not surprised the dog didn't understand the concept of the future. He looked at the city - was it really Gotham, or what Gotham would be? How could such a thing happened? It felt like there had once been something glorious here - and now it was terribly gone. He was familiar with science fiction stories where humans had experimented on dogs to make them speak - it was a human dream. It wasn't so farfetched, apparently. But where had the humans gone, and how long had they gone.

And who - or what - were the Time Tyrants? Were they up there, in that starry moon, ruling over what was left of Earth - these dogs - like cruel gods?

And how did Talia fit into this, and most importantly: is this where she had escaped to?

"Have you seen anybody else around lately, Warf?"

"What you mean?"

"Any other humans?"

"You only!"

"Nobody at all?"

"Saw fast shadow, moving down the road. Shadow with long hair. Very quick. Very quiet. But Warf see."

Batman frowned. That did sound like Talia. What did the Al Ghul's have to do with this?

And how did he stop them - and this unbearable future - from happening?

* * *

The only thing to do was go into the city.

"I'm going into Gotham," Batman told the dog.

"Why? Bad. No food there."

"Because I have to find the fast shadow."

"I go too! Human have food. But human only human."

"Maybe," said Batman. "I have a feeling there are other humans here, but they might be bad. Have you been in the city before?"

"Yeah," said Warf. "Many time ago."

"What in there?"

"Quiet. Nothing moving."

"Are there more dogs in there?"

"Some dogs. No food. And stone human look like you."

"Like me? A stone?"

"Yeah."

"Can you take me there?"

"Yeah! I know way."

"Let's go then," said Batman.

"Yeah!" said Warf.

They walked into the city. As they neared it, the paved road gave way to slick yet bruised chrome highways, and abandoned cars that stood upon legs but had no wheels. Batman examined one and supposed to move, it hovered - and he recognized the engine's technology: indusion. It was far removed from what he was familiar with but the principles were the same. It even made his time machine seem rudimentary.

The continued on. As they entered the city, Batman was taken aback by the sci-fi architecture and strange, forsaken vehicles. The layout of the streets seemed similar to Gotham, but there were changes here and there, as well as a monorail track and raised highways he didn't recognize.

But what was most prevalent was a horrid silence that stung deep in his soul. It was very sad. What had happened here? Where had all the people gone?

"Do you know what happened here to all the humans?"

"Time Tyrants happened," said Warf.

"What did they do?"

"They ate them."

"They ate the humans."

"That what old dogs tell."

"How long ago was that?"

"Many time ago. Before 2626."

"How long has it been 2626?"

"Many time. Many time."

"What happened in 2626?"

"New sound in city at night. Scary sound, under earth. Big screech. Buildings shake."

"And it's been 2626 ever since?"

"Yeah."

Batman wondered. The dog couldn't be that old. If it remembered before the new sound came, Batman supposed it was a fairly recent occurrence - perhaps in the last few years. How long had Talia and Ra's Al Ghul been coming here? When had they first come here? And what were they up to?"

Batman continued to follow Warf. There was a lot of human detritus, but no sign of any living thing, or anything dead. If the Time Tyrants had killed all the humans, they had left no remains. Perhaps they had eaten them. What a terrible thought.

Finally they came to a large square that was not in the old Gotham. At the center stood a tall statue of a caped figure, perhaps thirty feet tall.

Batman realized that it was a statue of himself - some artist's interpretation of the Dark Knight.

But it had been beheaded somehow. Instead of being perched at the top, the cowl and head lay on the ground some distance away, the mouth still grimacing steadfastly.

"Big human. You," said Warf.

"Yes, me," said Batman. "Has it always been like this?"

"Used to have head," said Warf. "But then 2626."

2626\. What did all this mean?

Content with this curiosity for now, Batman suggested to the dog they rest. The dog was enthused with this idea. The Dark Knight gave Warf another piece of the sandwich and ate the rest himself. He still carried some rations and water, but that was that for Alfred's cooking. Batman had been trained to go without food and water for quite some time. But if there was no food in the city, as Warf had warned, he worried about the dog.

He wondered if Warf was right - that other dogs were here. He would like to speak to an old one.

Batman sat upon a old bench and the dog laid down on the ground beside him.

It would be getting dark soon, he supposed. Then he would see what the screeching was about.

"Does the big screech happen every night?"

"Every night."

"You can hear it outside of Gotham."

"Many distance, I hear," said Warf. "Warf hide. All dogs hide."

Batman wondered if Wayne tower still stood. More importantly, he wondered if the Bat Cave survived. He would have to commandeer some sort of vehicle to get out there, or it would be a long trip. But first, he had to see about the noise Warf described, and he would have to find Talia's trail.

It was very dangerous here. There were too many unknowns and he couldn't plan for much.

He decided he would now search for Wayne Tower -

\- or whatever was left of it.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Thunderous Night

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrant**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Ten: The Thunderous Night**

When night fell, the noise came, furiously, like a thunderstorm under the ground. The buildings shook with every bang and tremor, and the ground groaned beneath them.

Warf walked with his tail between his legs, obviously frightened. "Scary sound!" he barked.

"It's okay," said Batman. "I'm here."

Warf looked unsure of whether or not that made a difference. The Dark Knight knew it did.

From what Batman could tell of the futuristic Gotham, the location of Wayne Tower should be near, only a few blocks away. He was impressed by the dog - a normal man would be totally unnerved by the sound coming from under the ground, and here this animal was doing his best to be courageous. However, Batman knew that more terrible things lurked before them, and wondered if taking the dog with him was a good idea after all. But he had to speak to the other, older dogs if he could, and Warf could help him find them, and help them trust him.

In a way, they were a team. They helped each other. Batman had never known such an experience in his cases.

There's always a first for everything.

Batman and Warf made their way through the shuddering streets until they came to the old avenue Wayne Tower usually stood on. Batman gasped at the sight of it:

It had obviously been torn down - and rebuilt; what stood in its place was twice as tall, but it was also adorned by the trademark giant "W" at its top. Like the rest of the city, it looked abandoned - as futuristic as it might have been, it was obsolete and dilapidated now. It was a strange, pitiful irony.

Batman extrapolated the possibilities in his mind: was it built by his heirs? Would he have heirs? The rest of his family was dead - only distant cousins remained. Or, this building could have been constructed solely by the company itself, which might have been immortal with the right decisions. Either way, it _was_ here, and the consequences and possibilities of this boggled even his highly conditioned deduction - there were too little facts at the moment to allow for anything but the most vague suspicions.

How certain was this future? Was it inevitable? Or was it the result of some catalogue of moments and choices made by himself and everyone else on Earth in concert? Or could he - somehow - stop all of this from happening?

For once, the Batman was truly daunted.

* * *

Batman and Warf entered Wayne Tower hesitantly - with the ground shuddering so, it was easy to imagine the buildings to suddenly come tumbling down. The glass doors opened as though they were brand new, and inside dark shadows cloaked empty fountains, lobby desks, and banks of elevators. The ground beneath them continued to rumble, and the building trembled as though it was as nervous as they were.

"Batman?" asked the dog.

"Yes, Warf."

"Why we here?"

"This is my building."

"Yours?"

"Yes."

"What you look for?"

"Clues," said the Dark Knight.

"What's clues?"

The Batman thought of how he would describe it to the dog. "You know the leaves of a tree?"

"Yes. Many trees outside city."

"A clue is like a leaf, and with it, you can the tree it belongs to."

"What tree you looking for?"

"The tree of history," said Batman.

"What you do then?"

"Stop all this from happening?"

"You mean, stop now?"

"Yes."

Warf thought about it. "If you stop now, do I stop as well?"

Batman had to consider this questions. "I don't know," he answered after a moment.

"I like being," said Warf. "Don't want stop."

"Me too," Batman agreed.

He realized now that he had been foolish in coming here - what did he think he might find? And what did he think he might do - scale the building with his grapple while Warf waited below, and to find what? No doubt something awful.

Batman thought to himself that perhaps men shouldn't travel through time so lightly. But he wasn't the kind of man who shirked responsibility, and he knew he was responsible for Gotham - and the world. If there was a way to stop all this, he had to do it.

His thoughts were interrupted by his intuition - they were being watched! He heard the twang of a bow - an arrow flew! He jumped in front of Warf to shield the dog and -

\- caught the arrow in his hand before it wounded Warf.

"Most impressive, Wayne," said a dark voice from the shadows. A figure stepped out into a shaft of light: it was Ra's Al Ghul, surrounded by his loyal assassins, all of whom had bows trained on Batman and Warf. "I see you have learned a trick or two since I was your master."

"The Batman has no master now," said the Dark Knight.

"That may be true," said Ra's. "Surely, no living man can surpass you. But as you know, I am no _living_ man."

Ra's spoke of his undead nature - a man resurrected again and again through his terrible, unholy invention: the Lazarus Pit, which had kept him alive for over a thousand years.

"You're welcome to test your mettle," said Batman.

"Oh, if only I had the _time_ ," said Ra's. "No, we won't be playing tonight. Tonight, I have something else to show you. Something magnificent."

"Don't waste my time, Ra's. If you're going to kill me, then kill me."

"I have no intention of killing you," said Ra's. "But I'm not opposed to maiming you. Or the dog. Have you ever eaten dog, Wayne? It's quite tasty, I feel as though I have the appetite for it now."

Batman cursed under his breath. "I will do as you ask, but you will not hurt the dog," said the Dark Knight.

"Fine, fine," said Ra's Al Ghul. "Whatever you want. They are marvelous creatures, aren't they? So much more...entertaining than those of our own age." Ra's motioned to his assassins. "Bind his hands. Two sets of cuffs. Make them very tight. He is an escape artist. Of course, I know we cannot not truly hold the Batman... you will escape, I know. But first, indulge me, please, as an old friend - won't you?"

Batman nodded his choice. Sentiment or not, he had no choice.

* * *

Ra's Al Ghul and his men led Batman and Warf out of Wayne Tower and back onto the street, where the terrible underground thunder had not ceased. Batman, of course, was already working his way out of his cuffs, as Ra's had predicted. Ra's of all people understood Batman's skill and talent. But Batman had to be patient - he had to find out what was happening here. Anyway, there were perhaps twenty assassins in all. Perhaps more than the Batman could handle, but not with Ra's in the equation as well. In addition, he had to think of the life of Warf, his companion and new friend. His hands, in multiple ways, were tied.

Batman and Warf followed Ra's Al Ghul and his assassins through the shaking streets until they came to a tunnel dug into the street some blocks away.

"Care to explain what's happening here?" Batman asked Ra's.

"I think it would make more sense if I showed you," answered the undead master assassin. "You will understand soon." Ra's laughed. "If you think me unforgivable now, just wait."

"Where's Talia?"

"She's waiting for us," said Ra's. "Waiting for you. She still loves Bruce Wayne. If he still exists. Or is there only the Batman now?"

The Dark Knight didn't answer. He remained silent as they continued underground.

The climbed down flight after flight of stairs. Torches lit the darkness. Batman had broken his bonds by now, but kept up appearances. He had to bide his time, for Warf's sake.

"Where we going?" asked Warf. "I scared. Noise louder."

"It's okay Warf."

"Can I leave?"

"I'm sorry, I think they will hurt you if you try."

"Why?"

"Because it will hurt me. I'm sorry."

"It okay," said Warf. "You nice."

The stairs seemed endless, but finally they came to a great door, which Ra's opened with a gleaming key. Opening the door, he laughed. "Oh, Wayne. If you only realize how impotent you really are. This, _this_ is going to destroy you."

They were in a giant room, the size of perhaps a football field. Inside lay a terrible machine, huge, but the Batman knew immediately that it was only the tip of the iceberg - the true thing was gigantic, and beyond sight here, reaching ever into the ground.

"What is it, Ra's?" the Batman growled.

"Don't you recognize it, Wayne? Haven't you seen something like it before? It's emanations, the blue light, the sound..."

Batman realized the construction was based on indusion - huge, immensely powerful - a time machine.

"What are you doing with this?" yelled the Batman.

"Why, what do you think?" asked Ra's. "I've brought you here - now I will bring the rest of Gotham here too. And then the rest of the world with it. You see, Wayne, the future must be constantly forged, and this future, as certain as it might seem - must be maintained. I wanted to destroy society to begin again - and now I've finally accomplished my goal. I have not only destroyed the world - I have destroyed its future."


	11. Chapter 11 - The Time Tyrant

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Eleven: The Time Tyrant**

"How could you betray humanity in such a way?" asked Batman.

"I'm not betraying humanity. I'm saving it," said Ra's Al Ghul.

"You're insane, Ra's."

"I don't think so, Bruce. There's more - much more - that you do not know."

Batman dropped his handcuffs to the floor. "Your time has run out."

"And what are you going to do? Don't you realize how powerless you are here? Don't you realize how little you know?"

"What I realize is how little you feel - for other humans, for anything living," said Batman.

"No! No, that is not true! I _do_ care, and soon you will see about what."

Ra's men were encroaching on the Batman and Warf, as Ra's smiled his wicked smile. The dog growled under his breath.

"What you don't understand, Bruce," Ra's chuckled. "Is that I can't kill you. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I need you, believe it or not. I've always loved you - you know that. You were my greatest student, maybe even my greatest accomplishment. Yes, you have disappointed me. But you can still redeem yourself - in fact, you _will_ redeem yourself."

"I don't want your idea of redemption, Ra's."

"I'm beginning to think you don't want any kind of redemption, Bruce. I think you like who you are, pitiful as you may be."

"I'm running out of patience, Ra's."

"You have nothing to threaten me with," said Ra's. "Like I said, I can't kill you. But I can kill the dog. And I will." Ra's drew a knife.

* * *

"Stop!" Talia appeared out of the shadows and stood between her father and the dog. "Father! Have mercy!"

Ra's put his knife away, but smiled again as he did so.

"Bruce," said Talia. "Please understand."

"There's only one thing I need to understand," said Batman. "That's how to stop _this_ , whatever this is, whatever you're doing here."

"It's what you're doing here, too, Bruce. Your gift to the world."

"What are you talking about?"

"I will show you, and you will understand," said Talia. "Alistair!" she called into the shadows.

A young man stepped out, perhaps seventeen, dark haired and brown-eyed. He was tall, fit, and had an intelligent but ignoble grin.

"Bruce, this is your legacy. Bruce, this is Alistair, your distant heir. Alistair Wayne."

"That's impossible," said Batman. "I've never had children."

"Not yet," said Ra's. "But you will, and Talia will be the mother. Alistair is far removed from you - by six centuries - but he is still your progeny."

"That will never happen," promised the Dark Knight.

"It will happen," said Talia. "Our love is inevitable. Our children will beget children. And those children will beget children, until Alistair will indeed stand before you now."

Batman eyed the boy. He seemed deceptively dangerous, even though he still had not said a word. Then he was struck by the truth. "The Time Tyrants," he growled. "They are Wayne's."

"Yes, they are," said Talia. "They rule the Earth. They were always meant to rule the Earth."

"Why do you need the people from our time?"

"Because we need slaves," said Alistair Wayne at last. "To fill our world and toil for us."

Batman had to still his heart at this new horror. "You spit on the Wayne legacy," he said. "I'll never allow you to happen. Even if I have to annihilate myself and everyone in this room."

"That won't be necessary!" said a new voice from behind them.

It was Richard -

\- no, it was _Robin_.

* * *

Robin was dressed in a costume of his own design, in garish red, yellow, and green, and he wore a black mask over the top of his face. He held a rifle that Batman had invented himself some time ago and forgotten about - the Bat Sleeper, a crowd control device that instantly knocks out humans unconscious in a flash of sub-aural vibration.

Batman of course had a device on his person that nullified the effect, and he bet that Robin had the same device himself. In less than a moment, Robin could put everyone in the room to sleep for hours.

"And what is that?" asked Ra's, though whether he meant the gun or Robin, Batman did not know.

"This," said Batman. "Is my _true_ heir. Robin. And the gun in his hands evens the odds here more than you can know."

"So this is your escape plan?" asked Ra's. "Depending on a boy?"

"It was no plan," admitted Batman. "It's a pleasant surprise."

Warf barked in agreement.

"We're going to leave now," said Robin. "And you're going to be happy about it."

"But Bruce!" pleaded Talia. "You must stay!"

"Robin," commaned Batman. "Just do it."

"Whatever you say," said Robin, pulling the trigger.

With little fanfare, Ra's, Talia, Alistair Wayne, and all of the assassins fell unconscious to the floor.

"Well?" asked Robin. "I guess that worked. What now?"

"Now we leave," said Batman. "But we take him with us." He gestured towards Alistair.

"Why's that?" asked Robin.

"I'll explain later. We must be quick."

"Okay."

The picked up Alistair and carried him out of the tunnel, Warf following. When they reached the entrance to the tunnel, Batman found Robin hadn't just brought himself - he brought the Batmobile, which sat idling on the street.

"You brought the car?" asked Batman

"Of course! And that's not all I brought!"

The cockpit of the Batmobile opened, revealing Alfred, dressed in black, and masked himself, like Zorro.

"You brought Alfred?" Batman was stunned.

"Yes. I'm not old enough to drive."


	12. Chapter 12 - The Branch

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Twelve - The Branch**

"None of this makes sense," Batman told Robin and Alfred once they were safely in the car. "Something is off, there's something Ra's hasn't revealed."

"How do you know that?" asked Robin.

"Because if Ra's completes his plan - and uses the indusion machine to bring Gotham here, how would this Gotham ever exist? Time travel might be full of conundrums, but that doesn't make sense."

"But what if this isn't the same timeline," asked Robin. "Is popular quantum theories hold that with each possibility, another universe blossoms into reality? Maybe this isn't our timeline, but another one."

"I think this timeline isn't supposed to exist," said Batman. "It feel wrong, not real, an appendage to time more than actual time."

"Are you saying this is an alternate reality?" asked Alfred.

"I don't know," Batman answered. "All I know is that Ra's isn't telling the truth."

"What are we going to do with the loser we've got in the prisoner pod?" asked Robin.

"I think he's the key. He's no Ra's, but I believe he's still dangerous. I think though that if we want answers, he's the one we need to lean on."

"Where are we going?" Alfred wondered.

"Outside the city," Batman told them. "We're going to see Warf's friends, the other dogs."

"Friends!" barked Warf. "My friends!"

"That's right, Warf. You and your friends are important here."

"Important!" exclaimed Warf.

"I don't think I'm used to the talking dog thing," said Robin.

"Me neither," said Alfred.

"What other kind dogs are there?" asked Warf.

Batman chuckled. "Dogs that aren't as special," he told the dog.

"Special!" agreed Warf.

They raced through the empty city. Dawn was arising.

As much as they all loved _their_ Gotham, they all breathed a sigh of relief once they had exited the future city, even the Batman. This bizarre metropolis exuded an oppressiveness that they had all never known before, and each was glad in their own way to reached the city limits.

Warf told them where his fellow dogs usually dwelled, near a river situated outside the city that led into the Gotham harbor. Here, the land was clean and fresh, Warf said, and many dogs lived there. They drove across the empty highways until they reached the spot Warf spoke of, and they then parked the Batmobile about half a mile away so as not to frighten the dogs. They climbed out of the car one by one, leaving Alistair tight in the car's prisoner pod.

The sun was warm, and the sky was a clear greenish blue. When Robin asked why the sky was colored so, Batman suggested there was something in the atmosphere not present in their own time, perhaps some poison released by the Time Tyrants, or as some other result of their machinations. There was no telling what had forged this world, instance by instance, minute by minute, until six hundred years had passed from our heroes' time to 2626.

But also, like Batman had suggested, this could have easily been an artificial limb of space-time, unholy, unnatural, manufactured and maybe tenuous. This was their hope anyway, as the reality of this place was too terrible to think of as an inevitability.

"Robin," Batman instructed, "I want you to take Alfred and follow Warf to the dogs and see what you can learn. I've got other business."

"What's that, Master Wayne?" asked Alfred.

"I'm going to have a little conversation with our guest," said Batman, speaking of Alistair Wayne.

"I see..." said Alfred.

"Why do I have to go?" Robin asked.

"Because I need you to," said Batman to the boy. "I am depending on you, Robin."

"Okay," Robin said, thinking about it and realizing he had gained the Batman's respect at last.

They said their goodbye's and the three of them headed off while Batman stayed with the Batmobile. When they were gone, Batman unlocked the pod to find Alistair swearing at him.

"You damn bastard!"

"That's no way to speak to your ancestor," said the Dark Knight.

"You can go to hell!" said Alistair.

"I think you need to understand that you are completely mine right now," said Batman. "I can do what I want with you - torture you, maim you, kill you. You are completely at my command."

"You won't kill me!"

"As far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't even exist," said Batman. Then he lied: "I wouldn't mind killing you, as you surely deserve it."

"Please don't," said Alistair, finally coming to terms with his situation.

Batman grinned with menace. "We'll see about that. Now, who are you, really?"

"I am Alistair Wayne! I am your heir!"

"You're no heir of mine," said Batman. "You're an abomination. What did your Wayne's do to this godforsaken world?"

"We made it ours!" said Alistair. "It has always belonged to us! That was the Wayne destiny!"

"I don't think you know anything about the Wayne's," muttered the Batman. "A real Wayne would never break the world so."

"You're lying!"

"I think not," said Batman. "What happened to the people here?"

"We used them up," said Wayne. "To build our moon."

"You killed them all?"

"Everyone in the world."

"How could you do such a thing?"

"They were insects compared to the Waynes."

"You are unbelievably evil."

"It was worth it!"

"And now you want the people from my world?"

"Yes! Your world!"

"This world is not my world, is it? This is something different, a branch of reality."

"Yes. A bubble. Ra's created it."

"Six hundred years of a false reality," mused Batman. "When did it start?"

"In your time. Ra's... he had a machine under the city, that split the timeline and created this world."

"And now that you've sucked all the life out of this time, you're going to take the lives of my own."

"We deserve it," said Alistair. "We own _everything_!"

"No one owns anything," corrected the Batman. "We are only caretakers. The Waynes protect the world, not suck it dry. You make me sick."

"Go to hell!"

"This is hell, and I'm already here," said Batman. "I'm going to destroy this world and destroy you. I'm going to cut this time from the continuum like it's a diseased limb."

"You can't! It's too late!"

Batman shook his head at Alistair. "I think you underestimate the Batman. Now - how do I get to your 'moon'? It's time to destroy it, and you, forever."


	13. Chapter 13 - War Counsel

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Thirteen: War Counsel**

"Hear me now," Batman said to the assembled dogs on the riverbank. "I have come to bring the scary moon out of the sky and to stop the noise in the city."

"How you do that?" asked one of the older dogs, who had been introduced as earlier as Hurlf. She looked like a weathered German Shepherd mix, and her voice was deep.

"I have captured one of the Time Tyrants," the Batman replied. "But we need your help."

"What help you need?" asked another dog, Yurpow, a young but plump dachshund.

"We need to go to war," Batman told them.

The audience of dogs, perhaps twenty-five strong, collectively shuddered. "Humans that are gone taught us war bad," barked Hurlf.

"It _is_ bad," agreed Batman. "But sometimes it is necessary."

"We only kill to eat," said another dog, Grupp, a large Rottweiler.

"We will not kill," said Batman - though he was well aware he was attempting to kill this entire reality. "But we will war nonetheless."

"But how we reach it?" asked Yurpow.

"There is an elevator," answered Batman.

"What that?" a few of them asked together.

"It's a place that will float us up to their moon," Batman explained.

"They kill us easy!" said another dog in the crowd who had not been introduced.

"We must be brave," said Batman. "I will protect you with all my power."

The knowledge of the Batman and his friends' powers had spread like wildfire among the dogs at their arrival, and the fact of his capture of a Time Tyrant impressed them as well. But they were still fearful and cautious. They enjoyed their lives, even while under the Time Tyrants' control, and did not want to lose them. At the same time, many of them dreamed of a world where they did not have to fear anymore.

Batman felt terrible about the whole mess. His plan was to save Gotham and annihilate this time branch - he didn't think he had any other options. His world depended on him. He didn't look at it as murder, because if he succeeded, this reality, wherever it had began, would never have been born. There would be no pain, he hoped, and while the dogs would cease to exist, he thought secretly to himself that it would be a mercy.

He thought again of his cage of guilt, and felt he was about to add another regret to it. The Batman was supposed to be impossible, to solve the most ridiculous conundrums, to always find the answer. But lately he was finding he had to compromise more and more, and that his fantasies of a great idea that was impervious to all dangers was slipping further and further away.

Still, he wondered:

Could there be a way? A way for what was not supposed to be alive to continue being alive?

* * *

"If you don't mind me saying so, Master Wayne, I think you're making a big mistake. These dogs are going to get killed."

"I know I'm making a mistake, Alfred. But I'm making it anyway. I have no choice. There's too many assassins for me to make a head-on assault, and I can't sneak in, they'd expect that, and I also don't want to risk your life and Robin's without better odds. I don't know what else to do."

"I didn't say you should not do it, sir, I'm just saying, it's a mistake."

"What else can I do?" asked Batman. "Ra's can fire up his machine and transfer the people of Gotham here at any moment."

"But don't you think he would have if he could, already?"

"That's true, Alfred. I don't know why he hasn't."

"Maybe he's waiting for you to impregnate Talia."

"That's not going to happen."

"It could happen against your will."

"That I know. And that's a risk. But Ra's wants to conquer my soul. And the only way for him to do it is through Talia."

"Whom you love?"

"Yes, I love her," said Batman. "I've always loved her. But she is a wicked woman. I must never touch her again."

"You do realize, sir, that if anything happens to her, all of this falls apart around Ra's."

"I'm not going to hurt her," said Batman. "Not even if I have to."

"I'm just telling you," said Alfred. "I'm reminding you."

"I don't need to be reminded, Alfred. I think about it all the time."

"And the boy? Richard?"

"He's doing pretty good," said the Dark Knight.

"But he's still too young."

"Yes."

"He did rescue you and Warf..."

"We didn't need to be rescued, Alfred. But I still appreciate you came."

"And what now?"

"Now we solve this mess and go home, Alfred."

"One more thing, sir. Do be careful - with all of these hearts, and with your own as well."

"I will, Alfred. You know me."

"Yes, sir. That I do."

* * *

It was time for war. Batman and Robin readied their gadgets and their muscles; Alfred would stay with the Batmobile and monitor things, safely. The dogs, though fearful, were certain in their action. It was decided by all involved that there was no other choice but to bring down the Time Tyrant moon - and _now_.

But first, Batman realized he had to have a talk with Robin.

"You alright with this?" he asked the boy.

"Of course!"

Batman was impressed and a little surprised. The boy was not fearful, not nervous, and seemed thrilled with the adventure before him. This was good - but also bad. It was important to be scared sometimes.

"We're going to confront death today," Batman explained to Robin.

"I know that," he said.

"People your age think you're invincible. You're not."

"I'm ready for this," argued Robin.

"Maybe. Either way, it's too late and I need your help. If I had a choice, I'd have you wait in the Batmobile with Alfred. But I'm depending on you, Robin."

"I know you are. And I won't fail you."

"Stay by me, and don't take stupid risks. We do have an advantage: Ra's doesn't want to kill me, in fact he needs me to go along with his plan. He no doubt knows if he hurts you that chance is lost. Nonetheless, you must be careful."

"I will be careful, Batman."

Batman had to accept what he had, and what he had was nothing more to say. He knew his will would be tested today, and he knew there would be losses. He just hoped the boy wouldn't be one of them. It was a test for the Dark Knight - he would have to accomplish the impossible -

\- again.


	14. Chapter 14 - Invasion

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Invasion**

Batman had correctly estimated the League of Shadows' fierceness; but what he had incorrectly judged was the reaction of the dogs once their own started falling dead. Though they spoke like rational beings, they were still animals. The assassins were brutal. The dogs were worse.

But it didn't start that way. On the ride up the elevator, Batman found himself doubting the dogs' commitment and bravery. He knew the League of Shadows would be expecting them, and have no mercy. He worried that they would be terribly outmatched, and it would be a bloodbath, with his side suffering the most losses.

But once the battle begin, everything went to hell. The dogs howled and snarled, their tore and ripped with their teeth, and they pounced upon enemy after enemy, enduring both sword and arrow wounds, which only multiplied their ferocity.

"Batman, we have a problem!" Robin cried over the noise of the battle. "The dog are killing them!"

"I know that Robin!"

"What are we going to do?"

"There's nothing we can do right now!"

"But - you have a plan for everything!"

"Yes," shouted Batman. "I have a plan!"

His strategy didn't require cynicism, but it did require time, and if he succeeded, it would provide redemption for those who needed it.

The first wave of assassins fell easily. The second wave was more coordinated. Batman hacked into a computer in the corridors of the Tyrant moon and disabled the lights - neither he nor the dogs needed them, giving them an advantage over the enemy. They then fought for inches. In the narrow corridors, swords and arrows were hopeless compared to sharp teeth and strong, whipping canine jaws.

Many dogs fell. The assassins died more horribly.

Like Alfred had suggested, Batman had made a mistake. But like the Dark Knight had argued, he had to make it. But he had no idea of the result of his mistake until the end of the battle.

Only Ra's and Talia, and a few of their bodyguards were left. Ordinarily, Batman would have taken this moment to welcome their surrender, and put a quick end to the battle. He shouted for the dogs to stop. But the dogs heard nothing but the pounding of blood in their ears.

The bodyguards fell, and Ra's escaped, but Talia stopped to plead with Batman. This was when the dogs struck, leaping upon her, a frenzy of fangs attacking her throat. Batman noticed too late, having chased after and been fooled by Ra's escape. Robin shouted and pulled at the dogs, but only one thing stopped the maelstrom: Talia's death.

Once her heart ceased pumping blood into their mouths, the dogs stopped tearing at her flesh, leaving her a bloody, half-decapitated mess.

A terrible dark ooze welled in his soul once he saw her body. He _had_ loved her, he really had.

They had won, for what it was worth. But the sacrifice was too great. Everything the Batman stood for was compromised. He had gotten what he had wanted, and also what he had not wanted.

* * *

Afterwards, the Dark Knight held Talia's hand in his own and tried his best not to look into her dead eyes. "Talia..." he whispered, but no other words would come out.

It was then that they all heard a chomping static from all around them. As the dogs licked their wounds, and Batman and Robin stood sadly over Talia, the Dark Knight had a new realization: with Talia's death, this branch of reality was collapsing.

"Robin!" Batman exclaimed. "We have to get out of here now!"

"Why?" Robin asked.

"With no Talia, there are no Al Ghul - Wayne's to bring forth this branch of time! It's disintegrating! We have to go!"

"What about the dogs?" asked Robin. "What about Ra's?"

"I don't know," said Batman. "I don't know. But we have to go. Now. I will radio to Alfred to use his indusion machine to return to Gotham. And we are going to use ours as well."

"But everything here - it will be gone!"

"It was always gone," said Batman. "This was all an illusion."

"But this pain, this death! This is real!"

"It only appeared real," said Batman.

"And what about Talia?"

Batman had no quick answer for that. "I would have saved her if I could. Believe me, her death touches me more than you know. But we must leave."

Warf had survived. "What this new noise?" the dog asked Batman. "I thought we won."

"We did win, Warf. We did," answered Batman.

"But you said dogs would live!"

"I did. And I still believe they will. You have to trust me Warf. Whatever darkness you're about to witness, I promise: I will be back."

* * *

It was the promise of science. If they had destroyed what had happened here: all of it, from the birth of the first Wayne from Talia up to the existence of Alistair - they could also recreate it. Perhaps it was a hope, and not a promise, but with the Batman, there was little difference. With the corrupted Waynes out of the picture, there would be no telling what this branch of reality could turn into.

So Batman and Robin jumped out of it; spinning - back to where they belonged. The long hum of time erupted all around them, flashing blue color as their thoughts became glacially slow. It only felt like minutes -

\- _it only felt like minutes._

And then they were returned - back in Gotham, back in the "past", back across space and time to the Bat Cave.

"Hello again, sirs," said Alfred.

"Hello Alfred," said Batman, taking off his cowl.

"Hey Alfred!" greeted Robin, taking off his.

"I wouldn't relax yet, Master Bruce. Ra's Al Ghul is back too, and he's holding the city hostage."

"Where is he?"

"Under the city."

"That can only mean one thing: Ra's is still going to activate his monstrous indusion machine and catapult Gotham's inhabitants into the future!" Batman deduced. "Is the Bat Mobile refueld?"

"I took the liberty, sir," said Alfred.

"This time I'm going alone," Batman told Robin.

"What? No!" Richard was aghast.

"I can't allow you to suffer the same fate of so many of the dogs," said the Dark Knight.

"But I won't!" complained Richard. "I'll be okay. You need me!

"I need you to stay here," Batman said, forceful, but not truly commanding yet. "Richard - do what I say. If you can't do what I say, this isn't going to work."

Richard was silent, turning red in anger and embarrassment. He said nothing more, storming off.

"Master Bruce?"

"Alfred?"

"You're doing a great job with the boy."

"If he lives."

"It was time. You need to instill conditioning in him while he is still a child. That's how they always remember."

"I guess you're right, my friend. It worked for me."

"Yes, Master Bruce. It really did."

They said their goodbyes and Batman raced out of the Bat Cave and into the city in his Bat Mobile. It leaped from highway to highway, and then zipped through the downtown streets, towards Ingrid Wells' apartment and Killer Croc's underground hideout.

Back to the scene of the crime.


	15. Chapter 15 - A Father's Grief

**Batman Versus The Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Fifteen: A Father's Grief**

There were many things Batman carried down into the sewer that night, but the heaviest of all was his heart. He thought of his cage of guilt, ever horrifying, now infused with the death of Talia and the dogs, and not absent was his sentiment for the corrupted Waynes he unseated and destroyed.

He was a wraith, a dark creature of the night. Did he forgive the "future" Waynes? Did he forgive himself?

It was time to enter the sewers again, and he did so without hesitation. And as he expected, Killer Croc was waiting for him.

Due to the injury Talia gave him with her knife, he could not speak. But he had never had much to say anyway - that night greeted Batman with his fists. Even when expecting it, Batman was caught off guard by some of Killer Croc's attacks, which were both very quick and very brutal. Batman dodged and countered what he could, and then made a clear play for Croc's wounded throat. Croc had no strategy here. He didn't dodge, relying on his own strength, and thus was easily stunned by Batman's weighted gloves jamming into his throat.

Here Croc gasped and took a step back. The Dark Knight had him off balance now, and dropped down and delivered two punches at the fragile front of Croc's left knee. The knee cracked, and Croc fell to the ground.

"AAAAAAAR!" said the beast man in great pain.

Batman then finished him up with a stamp to Croc's jaw, knocking him unconscious.

Kind of a matter of routine. Batman still didn't quite understand why Croc was important to this tale, but he imagined kind of a sadistic gesture on the part of Ra's Al Ghul in regards to Ingrid Wells.

But none of that mattered now. He had to stop Ra's, who he imagined was mad with grief over Talia's death. There was no telling what the master assassin and diabolical schemer would do now.

Batman delved further below. He knew that if Ra's had an indusion machine down here prepared to do what he wanted to do, it must have been huge. But his old master was a very resourceful man.

If Ra's really had that power he would wait for Batman to arrive first before activating it. Ra's was the kind of man who needed an audience to his terror. He wanted to look in his victims' eyes, and tonight, he would want to look into Wayne's eyes.

Batman's scanners picked up an indusion source deep underground. Ra's hadn't been kidding. He really had intended to kidnap Gotham's populace and enslave them in the future. Now, Ra's would surely be content in just destroying Gotham's citizens across the continuum.

After another hour of descent through the sewers, and into antiquated subway tunnels, and then deeper - into new, man-carved caves leading without doubt to the Ra's Al Ghul's indusion machine. Now the Batman could smell the indusion in the air - like an acrid burning mineral. He could see a faint blue light behind everything. Finally the caves appeared enflamed in fuzzy light and he made it into the main chamber, where the copper colored indusion apparatus stood enormous in front of him.

He was here.

"You are here at last, Wayne!" Ra's voices bellowed out of the shadows. "Now I will take from you as you took from me!" Ra's was dressed in black robes and brandished a long kitana sword.

"I took nothing," said Batman. "She is dead because of you!"

"Liar! I had given her infinity, immortality, heirs! And you stole it all!"

"You turn cruelty into a pathetic pageant," the Dark Knight told Ra's. "You crave the destruction of everything you touch. You are the anti-thesis of life."

"I have plans!" shouted Ra's.

"You have an empire of dust," Batman told him. "That's all you have left. And I'm going to break it - and break you."

They lunged at each other, Ra's with his sword swinging, and Batman ready for anything. Ra's swung low, at Batman's legs. Batman hopped, and kicked Ra's in the face. Ra's jumped back, spat a tooth, and raised his sword high in response. Batman threw a punch, missed, and then dodged to his right. Ra's was waiting for him with his sword. Batman caught the sword in his hands, and tore it out of the old assassin's possession, casting it to the floor with a clang. Quicker than the Batman expected, Ra's had drawn a knife, and swiped at Batman's eyes, cutting the Dark Knight's left cheek with a polite spray of blood.

Anger burst behind the Batman's eyes. He threw a quick jab at Ra's and caught him in the chin, opening him up for another punch to the gut, that Batman took without a second thought.

The master was old now - old, and slow. Batman almost felt sorry for him. Another punch to Ra's belly knocked the wind out of him, and then the Dark Knight pushed the old assassin to the ground, clutching his midsection.

Batman stood over his old master know, like he had so many others, but never with this sort of emotion clawing at his heart. Ra's was completely at his mercy. He could do anything he wanted to the old man - Ra's could barely fight back.

But what would he do with his former master?

* * *

"Just kill me already you coward," Ra's gasped as he writhed on the floor.

"Turn off the machine," commanded Batman.

"Never!"

"I'll destroy it!"

"You'll only destroy your dogs," laughed Ra's. "And I will return! I have another daughter, Wayne!"

That he did. Batman may have forgotten about Nyssa Al Ghul, Ra's other daughter, but the mastermind obviously hadn't. "I'll be back, Wayne. You'll never be rid of me. I am immortal too!"

The Dark Knight silenced him with a punch to the nose.

Now Batman had only the indusion machine to worry about. He found a puzzling control console with features and settings he didn't recognize, and struggled with how to disarm the thing.

But the difficulty wasn't just disarming the machine. He then had to rearm it, and seal it forever.

Just another day for the Batman. After hooking up the indusion system remotely to the Bat Computer, he did a quick check and extrapolated a new reality quotient according to his own schematics.

It was simple: 2626 without the Waynes. A better, lovelier world built as a sapling along bubbles of time and space. It made his heart hurt, but he had promised Warf, and he had promised himself.

* * *

When he checked on Ra's Al Ghul later in his holding cell at the Bat Cave, he found the mane strangely quiet.

"I've destroyed it all, Ra's. I've rebuilt something different."

"What's that?"

"Hope."

"What a waste then."

"Ingrid Wells' death was a waste," said Batman. "Why'd you do it?"

"Because it pleased me to possess the technology for myself."

"You could have just stolen it. You didn't have to give her to Killer Croc."

"We had to gain your attention," said Ra's.

"Why?"

"Because it would please me to possess you for myself."

"I'll never do your bidding again," said Batman.

"Perhaps. Perhaps you could have saved Talia."

"I was distracted by you, Ra's!"

"Sure you were."

Batman sighed. He was falling in a trap with Ra's. The old assassin wanted him to get angry, think emotionally, do something stupid -

\- it would never happen.


	16. Chapter 16 - Dismantling the Future

**Batman Versus the Time Tyrants**

 **by Matthew Snee**

 **Chapter Sixteen: Dismantling the Future**

Once the Bat Computer was finished with its calculations, the Dark Knight activated the gigantic indusion machine for the last time.

He was basically redoing what Ra's had done, in sparking an artificial branch in time, but this one would have a rosier future, he hoped, where the dogs could be free. He thought now of the dogs who had died in his invasion. They had given their lives so honorably, and so carefree. It was a conundrum he would do his best to understand.

But, as he had said he was creating hope: he created not just a branch in time, but a true sapling of a world, with powerful foundation and endless possibility. Was he doing something unnatural? He didn't bother to think so. He was saving lives.

After the reality was built, Batman opened a blue portal that would carry him to it. Without hesitation, he entered the light. It was like riding a vaporous carousel: a multitude of realities twirled around him, above him, below him. A buzzing vibration inked into his bones and his soul grew hot. He realized reality was nothing but endless sky, and peace descended into his skin.

Finally, the blue light dimmed and a yellow light overtook it. He had arrived.

* * *

He was on the outskirts of the futuristic Gotham again, on an overgrown highway. The gleaming ragged chrome of the city spread before him. He couldn't hope to understand all the details of indusion, but he knew that despite the annihilation of the Wayne lineage, this world would remain as he and the dogs remembered.

He looked up and down the highway. He saw no dogs. There was also little sound: no birds or insects chirping, no breeze blowing through the trees. He cleared his throat just to hear something.

 _Did I do something wrong?_ he wondered.

Batman decided to head down to the river, and a few minutes later he had found them: drinking from the water, resting themselves on the riverbank, others sniffing around and still others asleep in the sun.

He saw Warf. "Warf!" he called. The dog turned and ran towards Batman, tongue flopping and tail wagging.

"Hello Batman!" Warf barked and cooed as he jumped on Batman, trying to lick his face.

"That's okay, Warf! Now, down!"

Warf's enthusiasm quickly subsided. "I not believe you are here again!"

"I promised I would come back!"

"Did you? Warf not remember."

"What do you remember, Warf?"

"Batman gave Warf sandwich!" exclaimed the dog.

"Anything else?" Batman asked.

"Nope!"

"What about the Time Tyrants?"

"Who?"

"The Wayne's?" Batman's curiosity increased.

"Never heard before!"

Had all of that been erased, and yet the dogs were still here, almost as how he left them? "What year is it?" Batman asked the dog.

"2627!" Warf barked.

2627\. Time had started here again. Or it had never stopped. Either way, he had did it, and this sapling of time had nothing but endless possibility before it.

Batman smiled. "Say, Warf?" he asked the dog. "Would you like more sandwich? I brought some with me!"

"What you do now?" Warf asked Batman after the sandwich was gone.

"I'll go home."

"This is home!"

"Not for me, Warf"

"Where home?"

"Very far."

"You come back?"

"I don't think so, Warf. I have to seal this place off so Ra's doesn't come back."

"Who?"

"Bad people," Batman tried to explain.

"There are no bad people! People good!"

"I wish that were so, Warf."

"You not come back? What Warf do? What Warf eat?"

Batman laughed at this. "I am sure you'll be fine now. Just... be resourceful." He had one more question: "Warf. Does the city ever make a loud noise at night?"

"No..."

"And you don't see any other people like me?"

"You only one!"

"Good," said the Dark Knight. "Good."

"When you go?"

"Soon."

"What is soon?"

"In the future."

"What is future?"

Batman sighed. He hoped the dog never found out.

* * *

The Dark Knight destroyed the machine and sealed off the chamber with instantly forming rock paste.

By the time he got back to the mansion, Wayne was tired, and the sun shined brightly. Day. He never felt comfortable in it.

Once back in the safety of his home, he inhaled deeply, and said hello to Alfred and Robin, who were eating breakfast in the kitchen.

"I trust all went well with reality, sir?" asked Alfred.

"I think so," Wayne said. "We're still here."

"And here is boring!" complained Robin. "Let's do something, please!"

"I think we've all earned a rest, Master Richard," said Alfred.

"I believe Alfred is right, Richard."

"Arg!" the boy groaned.

"But, sometime, I promise," said Wayne. "In the future."

"Is that some sort of time travel joke?" asked Richard. "Does that mean _never_?"

"It means... eventually... maybe."

"But that could mean never too!"

"I guess we'll have to take that risk," chided Alfred.

THE END


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